Chapter 3

The Woman on the Phone

Adrian's fingers moved across the screen, and he brought the phone to his ear.

"Hi," he said, stepping into his study. "Yes, I can talk."

The door closed behind him.

I stood in the marble hallway, my bandaged hand throbbing in rhythm with my heartbeat, and wondered who Sophia Bennett was.

And why Adrian sounded different when he answered her call. He sounded warmer somehow, less guarded.

More like himself.

---

I woke up at 4:47 AM and couldn't fall back asleep.

The other side of the bed was still empty. Adrian hadn't come to bed, which meant he'd either slept in his study or never made it home at all. I told myself it didn't matter. That I didn't care about the phone call with Sophia Bennett, about the warmth in his voice that I'd never heard directed at me.

I told myself a lot of things that morning.

By 6 AM, I was in the study with my laptop open, searching for Sophia Bennett like some kind of obsessed woman who had nothing better to do.

And I found her immediately.

She had a LinkedIn profile that read like a masterclass in ambition. Vice President of Corporate Development at Sterling Enterprises. Five years of international experience in Southeast Asia. A degree from Columbia. A photograph that showed a woman with sharp cheekbones, dark hair styled with effortless sophistication, and the kind of confidence that came from always knowing you belonged in the room.

She was beautiful.

Not in the way I was beautiful, careful, understated, trying not to take up too much space. Sophia Bennett had the kind of beauty that demanded to be seen. The kind that made men answer their phones at any hour of the day.

I hated her immediately. And I hated myself more for hating her.

The workday dragged on. I sat through back-to-back meetings, but my mind wasn't in any of them. Around 10 AM, I noticed Adrian leaving his office. He didn't say where he was going. He just stood up and walked out, leaving his assistant to reschedule a client presentation.

At lunch, Olivia, my loyal assistant who somehow always knew everything, leaned against my desk with two coffees in hand.

"He's been doing that a lot lately," she said quietly, setting a cup down in front of me. Olivia was a woman in her early thirties with sharp observational skills and the kind of discretion that made her invaluable to anyone who actually respected their staff. "Leaving during the day. But never says where."

"Adrian?" I asked, like there was any other "he" worth discussing.

"Yeah. For the past few weeks, maybe longer. It's not like him." Olivia settled into the chair across from me. "You didn't know?"

I took a long sip of coffee to buy myself time. "I didn't ask."

"Mm-hmm," Olivia said, in a tone that suggested she knew exactly what I wasn't saying. "Well, whatever it is, he keeps it private. Even his calendar blocks are vague."

She left before I could respond, but her words lingered like smoke I couldn't quite clear from the air.

By 2 PM, I'd made a decision I hated myself for making.

I left the office early, telling Olivia I had a client meeting across town. Instead, I positioned myself across the street from Harrison Group headquarters, wearing sunglasses and feeling like the worst version of myself.

I waited for forty minutes.

When Adrian finally emerged, he wasn't alone.

Sophia Bennett walked beside him, and she was even more striking in person than her photograph suggested. She wore a cream-coloured suit that probably cost more than my monthly salary, and she moved like she'd already won whatever game she was playing.

I pressed myself against a storefront window, hating every second of this.

Adrian said something to her. I couldn't hear the words, but Sophia smiled. It was a real smile. The kind of smile that reached her eyes. That kind Adrian rarely directed at me.

"It won't be long," Adrian said, his voice carrying across the distance. "I just need to confirm the details with my contacts."

"You're a lifesaver," Sophia replied. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you right now."

The way she said it, the intimacy in her tone made my stomach clench.

Adrian's hand came up and settled against her back, guiding her toward the waiting car. It was a small gesture. Automatic. The kind of thing people did without thinking.

But I had never felt his hand on my back like that. Not in public, not with that easy confidence.

The light changed. The car should have driven away. Instead, Sophia lowered the window and leaned back toward Adrian.

She was close enough that I could see her lips moving, could see Adrian's expression shift into something I'd never seen directed at me. Warmth, concern and tenderness.

Then Sophia laughed. A sound that carried across the street, and she reached for his hand.

She placed it against her stomach gently and deliberately.

My breath stopped.

Adrian didn't pull away. His hand stayed there for a moment, and I watched his expression change. A flicker of something protective, something deeply personal crossing his features.

Then the car pulled away and disappeared into traffic.

I stood frozen on the sidewalk, my legs suddenly unable to hold my weight properly. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I

pulled it out with shaking hands.

A message from Adrian.

Working late. Don't wait up.